# Anyone can? Tips for pickles and how to not kill myself?



## loki993 (Sep 25, 2010)

I've wanted to try and make pickles for a while now and I figured it was an easy way to get into canning, Plus I love pickles. I assumed that because of the vinegar it was fairly easy and for the most part safe and tough to mess up. I started doing a little reading though and I see warnings about messing with recipes and only using tested safe recipes and it got me a little worried.

My original plan was to do some bread and butters, but I wanted some that weren't as sweet and I wanted some spicy. I like to experiment.. So I was going to make some regular, I was going to cut the sugar in another batch and add some Habaneros to another group. Maybe tweak with the spices added a little. From reading it seems that its all about PH, Does adding different stuff change the PH that much? I honestly cant see how adding peppers or cutting sugar would change it all that much. 

How does someone come up with their own recipes? How do you test them?

Anything else I should be careful of or watch for? I will be processing the pickles too.


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## ekengland07 (May 20, 2009)

Are you wanting refrigerator pickles or truly canned pickles?


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## loki993 (Sep 25, 2010)

I was thinking about going with truly canned pickles solely for the longevity. I have a peck of pickling cucumbers and I doubt ill go through them all in a month.

I would assume refrigerator pickles would be a bit more flexible in the recipe department?


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## ekengland07 (May 20, 2009)

loki993 said:


> I was thinking about going with truly canned pickles solely for the longevity. I have a peck of pickling cucumbers and I doubt ill go through them all in a month.
> 
> I would assume refrigerator pickles would be a bit more flexible in the recipe department?


They are more flexible to a degree, but to make a direct acidified pickle, the recipe is more or less the same. Only the processing is different.

For canning, I use the Ball Canning Book and always have great results. It has like 400 recipes with the normal variations in pickles/jams/etc. Follow their recipes and they will be good.


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## android (Feb 27, 2012)

what i might suggest is you start with either the ball book as Eric suggested, or just buy a few packs of the premixed bags of the pickle seasonings (has all the salt/dill seed, etc. in it, you just add the vinegar and water and process).

secondly, as long as you have the right ratio of vinegar and salt in the recipe, those are what keep the bad stuff from growing (and the water bath), so you can alter the recipe to suit your taste (more or less garlic, more dill, sugar, etc.).

lastly, i'll just throw this out there, but the best pickles I've ever made are the naturally fermented kind. basically, you just make a brine solution and add whatever flavors you want and let nature take its course. no canning required and they keep for damn near as long (they never last long enough to find out). once fermentation is over, i put them in the fridge. it's a really cool way to learn about the natural fermentation process that is involved in tons of things we consume (cigars included!). this type of pickle is the standard issue at old school delis in new york city.

here's a good starting point: Making Sour Pickles | Wild Fermentation :: Wild Fermentation


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## hardcz (Aug 1, 2007)

shoot me a pm with your specifics, I have a few pickling books, along with several crocks... don't want to make the mistake I did and make them too salty, if you decide to go the natural fermented way.... Funny you post this as I picked up 9 lbs of cukes after work today too.


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## loki993 (Sep 25, 2010)

android said:


> what i might suggest is you start with either the ball book as Eric suggested, or just buy a few packs of the premixed bags of the pickle seasonings (has all the salt/dill seed, etc. in it, you just add the vinegar and water and process).
> 
> secondly, as long as you have the right ratio of vinegar and salt in the recipe, those are what keep the bad stuff from growing (and the water bath), so you can alter the recipe to suit your taste (more or less garlic, more dill, sugar, etc.).
> 
> ...


Thanks Ill take a look. I need to see what shakes out after I do the Bread and Butters, but I have a feeling that Ill have some left. I was wondering about the sugar because its sometimes used as a preservative too, but as 99 percent of the recipes I'm looking at are all vinegar that's the preservative.

Also the recipes I see for Bread and Butters have you cover the cukes in salt and ice for a couple hours and then rinse it all off. I'm assuming that that's sufficient for the salt. They don't call for any extra salt.



hardcz said:


> shoot me a pm with your specifics, I have a few pickling books, along with several crocks... don't want to make the mistake I did and make them too salty, if you decide to go the natural fermented way.... Funny you post this as I picked up 9 lbs of cukes after work today too.


Yeah I may. I was at some farmers markets this weekend and they had a peck of cukes that looked good for canning for 3 bucks, couldn't pass it up.


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## hardcz (Aug 1, 2007)

I tried the alton brown brine recipe and two of the ball recipe's, the ball ones turned out too salty, the alton brown one as going good, though taking longer than expected.... I was going for the super sour ones... taking weeks, I forgot to skim a few days in a row, next thing you know, fruit flies managed to get under the towel and there was no way I was eating those after that...though up until that point, they were starting to get really great and sour.

Remember to put in some lime or calcium in the jars before canning to get them to crisp up, unless you like them soft.


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## longburn (Mar 28, 2009)

Ryan,

I have to go to work but one of my hobbies is canning believe it or not. I never thought I would see another guy who does that:rotfl:
But I have a couple of killer recipes. One I created and one I came across in a 1940s pickleing recipe book. I'll get them and send them this evening.


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

Science of Pickles: Pickling Tips | Exploratorium


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## loki993 (Sep 25, 2010)

hardcz said:


> I tried the alton brown brine recipe and two of the ball recipe's, the ball ones turned out too salty, the alton brown one as going good, though taking longer than expected.... I was going for the super sour ones... taking weeks, I forgot to skim a few days in a row, next thing you know, fruit flies managed to get under the towel and there was no way I was eating those after that...though up until that point, they were starting to get really great and sour.
> 
> Remember to put in some lime or calcium in the jars before canning to get them to crisp up, unless you like them soft.


Oh man I hate fruit flies lol


longburn said:


> Ryan,
> 
> I have to go to work but one of my hobbies is canning believe it or not. I never thought I would see another guy who does that:rotfl:
> But I have a couple of killer recipes. One I created and one I came across in a 1940s pickleing recipe book. I'll get them and send them this evening.


Yeah, It seems like am interesting thing to do and I mean why not you can make tasty food that will last. I love pickles and good pickles are expensive. I don't know if Ill ever really push past things that are easy like pickles and maybe the occasional jam. Even though I had at one point acquired a pressure cooker at one point that's since been liberated from me by my sister lol.


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## android (Feb 27, 2012)

hardcz said:


> Remember to put in some lime or calcium in the jars before canning to get them to crisp up, unless you like them soft.


just FYI, you can also put a grape leaf in the bottom of the jar and the tannins from the leaf help keep the pickles crisp.

also, i don't own a crock, so I just ferment the pickles in quart or half gallon ball jars. just wedge them in there so the pickles don't come above the brine, works great. lastly, i go to the super extreme and make airlock lids for my fermenting veggies. i take one of the plastic lids, drill a hole in it, put in a rubber o-ring deal (can't remember what the hell they are called at the moment) and put in a brewing airlock. eliminates the need to skim and worry about fruit flies.


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## andrprosh (Apr 5, 2011)

Pickles are the best vodka chaser, pickle juice is amazing hangover cure, I come from the land of vodka and pickles


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## hardcz (Aug 1, 2007)

How are the pickles coming? Mine are just rounding the two week mark, skimming bubbles, not much slime, been keeping them in the kitchen, the whole house smells like fermenting pickles lol


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## IBEW (Jan 17, 2009)

longburn said:


> I have to go to work but one of my hobbies is canning believe it or not. I never thought I would see another guy who does that:rotfl:


Nothing wrong with that, I like to cook, grill, slo-smoke, bake, you name it!



andrprosh said:


> Pickles are the best vodka chaser, pickle juice is amazing hangover cure, I come from the land of vodka and pickles


That does sound good! I love good vodka, _(everybody should have a bottle in their freezer)_ but never tried it with pickles.

Actually, I've always wanted to try real canning, after hearing so many horror stories about botulism, I've held off. I guess it's like anything else, follow directions and do it right and everything should be good. Maybe I'll finally try it!


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## android (Feb 27, 2012)

hardcz said:


> How are the pickles coming? Mine are just rounding the two week mark, skimming bubbles, not much slime, been keeping them in the kitchen, the whole house smells like fermenting pickles lol


nice Dan, they should be about ready. did you do them in a crock or in jars?


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## HIM (Sep 12, 2012)

We drink picklebacks..... A shot of Jameson with a side shot of pickle juice. Pretty tasty.... As for making pickles, just get pickling spice and garlic and bring it to a boil in vinegar then add the hot mix to the jar or can of spears. If you want them spicier either add black or cayenne pepper. They're ready after 1 day and makes a good bread and butter pickle. I don't can so I have no input there.


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## David_ESM (May 11, 2011)

My father and I once canned about 3 dozen jars of pickles and we put habanaros in a few. They were awesome. Just went with a standard garlic/dill pickle recipe and added a couple sliced peppers to each jar.


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## angryeaglesfan (Jun 27, 2010)

It's great to read this thread because my wife and I planted a huge garden this year and she has been on a canning crusade for the past two months.....one of the things she made were about 20 jars of pickles. (Our cuke population was incredible!) Good luck with the pickling! I am going to go in after my cigar and crack open a jar to see how they taste. She did everything from homemade jams to canned beets, carrots, and tomatoes. Now she is trying to make homemade sauerkraut! Damn German heritage........she has to pop the lids every 2-3 days to release the gas buildup in the jars. Talking about stinking up the house........


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